1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates broadly to equipment for use in the tagging, medicinal treatment or like handling of cattle or other animals. More particularly, it concerns devices for attachment to animal chutes that can immobilize the head of an animal held in the chute for treatment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
From time to time, cattle and other domestic animals must be treated with medicinals, ear tagged, or subjected to various other treatments. To accomplish this cattle chutes have been developed to hold the animal so the treatment can be safely accomplished. Typically, the chutes comprise a pair of sides plus entrance and exit gates that pivot from an open position where the animal may be lead into the chute to a closed position where the chute sides clamp against the sides of the animal and its head extends through an opening in the exit gate. Animal chutes of this type have been commercially available for many years for use by ranchers, veterinarians, etc. (see for example "The Florida Cattleman and Livestock Journal" Vol. 46, No. 6, March 1982, pages 14, 36, 50 and 113, the disclosure of which in incorporated herein by reference).
Although the person administering the treatment, tagging, etc. is isolated from the legs and body of the animal by the closed chute, the animal is still able to move its head about. Hence, it is necessary to immobilize the head to effectively apply the treatment. In the past this has been done by stationing a person at the exit gate of the chute to physically grab hold of the animal's horns or other portion of its head to hold the head still while another person applies the treatment. The person holding the animal's head is known in the trade as a "mugger". The present invention provides a mechanical device to perform the job of the mugger thereby performing the head holding task more effectively and, at the same time, eliminating the cost of the human mugger in the animal treatment operation.
In the slaughtering of animals, it has been known to use piston operated devices to hold the heads of animals still with the throat exposed so the animal may be slaughtered (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,087,195; 3,092,871 and 3,101,508). However, there is a critical difference between these prior art devices and those of the present invention. Thus, in the devices of this invention, it must be possible for the animal to walk out the chute after its treatment has been applied, whereas, in the prior devices when the animal has been slaughtered, the dead body, either in one piece or cut into sections, is hoisted out of the chute by an overhead meathook or the like so there are no exit gates on the slaughter chutes.